Looking for information on standards?  This page has up-to-date information about the Common Core State Standards PLUS some resources that the CCSS Website doesn't even offer yet!!!

REALLY???  Yes.  If you go to the Common Core State Standards Website, you'll find some useful PDF files (and don't forget to read the Appendices!).  But if you're actually writing curriculum, you'll need tools that are even more useful, which is why I've created a K-12 ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet, available in the Download Zone.  Check out this FREE SAMPLE of a 4th-grade ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet.

ALSO: I've launched The Literacy Cookbook Blog, which focuses primarily on how to meet and exceed the Common Core Standards.  Please check it out and follow me!

For a model on how to analyze the TRAJECTORY of the Standards, check out this FREE download, "RIT Standard 1 Trajectory Analysis Chart."

For initial guidance on writing curriculum aligned with the Standards, check out the Common Core Curriculum Mapping Project, which provides invaluable sample unit maps (6 per grade for K-12 ELA) based on the Common Core Standards.  If you are trying to figure out how to tackle the Common Core Standards, you NEED to look at this page!  Note: It costs $20 to join and access the materials, but you can view free samples HERE.

THE COMMON CORE CONVERSATION provides links to DOZENS of other Websites dealing with the Common Core.  Check out the TLC Blog "COMMON CORE Online Resources: UPDATE 1-27-13" for more information.

Another great resource, particularly for creating writing assessments, is the LITERACY DESIGN COLLABORATIVE.  Teachers are working together to design modules aligned with the Common Core.  They note: "An LDC module establishes a teaching task, the skills and instruction students will need complete the task, and results in the form of student work.  There are multiple templates available for each kind of writing, using varied layouts but all offering the key elements required for LDC Design."  A good place to start is with the "1.0 Guidebook to LDC," which explains the templates, tasks, and modules and provides some models.

Many states, including NJ, have signed on to administer the PARCC Assessments when they are ready to ensure that students are meeting the Common Core Standards.  You should bookmark the PARCC Website and check it periodically.  Currently the "Item and Task Prototypes" page is my favorite; it includes some sample assessments to give us all something to chew on.

EngageNY provides a useful array of Common Core Resources, including DRAFT Sample Assessment Items for grades 3-8 (in ELA and Math).

Looking for more RESOURCES on the Common Core Standards?  Utah DOE has some excellent links! (Thanks to Samantha Messer for this lead!)

Trying to UNPACK the Standards?  North Carolina DPI has created a useful set of PDFs to support your efforts!

Looking for sample Common Core-aligned units? Here is one for grades 7-8.  As Ed Week noted: called "Persuasion Across Time and Space," the five-lesson unit is the first major classroom resource produced by the Understanding Language team, a group of English-language-learner experts led by Kenji Hakuta, an education professor at Stanford University, to help educators grasp the central role of language in the rigorous Common Core State Standards and to give teachers resources for providing higher levels of instruction and demanding content to ELL students.

Looking for lessons that address the Common Core?  Check out LearnZillion for hundreds of user-friendly video lessons!

In addition: If you are developing curriculum, check out Templates for Lessons & Units to see sample curriculum overviews and unit plans and download the necessary templates.  Then take a look at the resources and links on the Curriculum Resources & Links page.

IN THE DOWNLOAD ZONE for STANDARDS:

K-12 ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet